#and should be respected and agreed with and supported

[liminal-librarian]

Super agree.

The thing is, a lot of pseudoscience is very close to a correct scientific fact but interprets it wrong or extends a rule of thumb beyond what is supported by the evidence.

So be merciful, but firmly on the side of the truth.

Flat Earth: Issac Asimov has a beautiful essay on this one but I'll paraphrase: If most people look out their window, they see rolling hills somewhat hidden by vegetation and/or water. (Because those are the places on earth most conducive to human life, also selection bias). But if you do a little research, keep careful track, and compile reports from other travellers, you realize that maybe the hills average out. Now what? If you do that leg work, you arrive at an unintuitive result: On average the earth is flat. This lets you correctly predict things like: the mountains, no matter how high, come back down on the other side, the sea floor comes back up on the other side, etc.

But once you extend it far enough, you find this theory making claims that are inaccurate, and the farther you take it the more inaccurate it is.

When we say that we have a better theory now, we don't mean that the flat earth theory is false, we mean that we've adjusted it slightly to make it more accurate, 0.008983 degrees per km to be exact, to imagine Earth as a sphere. (And additional even smaller adjustments to more closely approximate the real shape of the earth, an oblate sphereoid.)

No one quibbles about 0.008983 degrees per km in normal everyday life. But we very much do need to take it into account when planning journies many km long, and more so the faster we travel, or the harder it is to steer, like aeroplanes and spaceships.

Homeopathy is similar: Take a look at any medicine in your cabinet. In almost all of them the active ingredient is below 2%! (And remember that that tiny amount will further be dissolved and diluted throughout your whole body, or at least your whole bloodstream.) Most active ingredients target an internal distribution in the in parts per million/billion. Some active ingredients are considered most effective/safest at parts per trillion.

Why is it like that? Some of it is safety, other parts are psychology and ease of use. You don't want to just take the two drops of a full dose! The active ingredient might taste impossibly bad, be caustic at that concentration, or any number of other things that might prevent you from swallowing the whole dose. (Or take 3 drops by accident, or drop one on the floor and poison the cat.) Or worse, it tastes like nothing and people won't believe you that it is medicine, or figure out how easy it might be to poison people with it.

If you find/isolate/invent a new pharmacological/active ingredient, you don't just need to know the required treatment dose, you also need to find the correct delivery buffer(s) to dilute it with to make it safe to take without rendering it inert or inaccessible.

If you flunked out of pharmacy school without the full picture of all of that, or got hold of your mother's textbooks while in middle school one afternoon while you were sufficiently bored, you could easily misinterpret a discussion about finding effective buffers and safe dilutions to keep the patient from rejecting the active ingredient and invent homoeopathy from first principles. Or you might understand it correctly but fail to pass on the true goals of dilution to the second generation of your practitioners.

That said, if your active ingredient's correct dilution is measured in parts per trillion, you should not be handling that without a hazmat suit. Just like big pharma. (Oh, it's just daisies? Daisies which are universally considered to be non-toxic to humans and horses? Nope, you are selling weirdly themed bottled water.)

Comparatively, I have great respect for (at least one brand of) essential oil distributors, they are very clear: The effective dose is X drops, and the minimum carrier oil dilution (for the average person to not develop an allergic sensitivity) is Y per drop. And they don't sell carrier oils (you can just grab them from your local grocery store), so there is no financial incentive to them to get the dilution numbers wrong.

I understand that vaccines are proven to work and are a great advancement in our medicine, and also that homeopathic remedies don't work, but don't they work on the same principal? Why does one work and the other doesnt?

They do not work on the same principle.

I can see how vaccines look like a "like treats like" situation, but in homeopathy "like treats like" is a kind of magical thinking.

Let's take an example from Chicken Pox, a virus for which there is an effective vaccine and for which there is a common homeopathic treatment.

Chicken pox infects people once, and it is extremely rare to get a second case because once you have had it, your body forms persistent antibodies against the varicella-zoster virus. When I was a kid, they didn't have a vaccine for this, so kids mostly got chicken pox once and it ran around whole schools and that was it. It's a virus that is fairly minor in children, though it can cause dangerously high fevers. Adults who get chicken pox typically get much sicker than children who get it, and it can lead to permanent harms like infertility in adults who get it. Because it can be so dangerous, we don't want people to risk getting it, so we vaccinate.

The way the vaccine works is that it takes a weakened form of the virus and introduces that into the body of a person with a healthy immune system. The immune system responds and the person who got the vaccine may get some minor symptoms, like a headache or a slight fever, but it will be nowhere near as severe as getting actual chicken pox would be. Because the immune system was exposed to the virus and responded, it now has antibodies against the virus that recognize the virus and respond immediately before it can start replicating in the body. If a person who has either previously had chicken pox or who has been vaccinated against it is exposed to the chicken pox virus, their body uses those antibodies to react to the virus and protect against a systemic infection.

Are you familiar with Star Trek? It's kind of like the Borg. You can't use the same attack pattern against the Borg multiple times because if you do, they'll recognize the pattern and will be able to defend against it. The virus is the attacker, and your immune system is the Borg. It knows what it's looking for and won't let anything get through its defenses.

Homeopathic remedies don't seek to prevent illness or provoke an immune response, they seek to cancel out something that is happening in the body.

For chicken pox, which produces itchy red bumps, homeopaths use Rhus Tox - a dilution of poison ivy, a plant that causes itchy red bumps if you encounter it in nature. The Rhus Tox didn't cause the chicken pox, it's not given to prevent the virus, it's from a plant that is completely unrelated to the virus that happens to produce some of the same symptoms as the virus when you touch it.

They don't even think that the Rhus Tox will provoke an immune response from your body like actually touching poison ivy would, they're attempting to use an unrelated compound (that is so diluted that it isn't even present in the preparation) in place of your immune system to attack the itchy red bumps.

So I'm going to go over this in a few brief points:

Vaccines are preventative ONLY, they are not a treatment for illness or symptoms of an illness

Vaccines work by introducing your immune system to a partial, weakened, or dead virus so that your immune system can form antibodies against that virus and prevent that virus from replicating in your body when it is later exposed to a whole/strong/live virus.

Different vaccines have different levels of effectiveness and produce different lengths of immunity; this is for a number of reasons, but if you get a measles shot as a kid you may only ever need one booster, while you need a flu shot every year and a tetanus shot every decade. All of them work the same way, though: they show your immune system what a virus looks like so that your immune system can kill the virus.

That is why immune compromised people sometimes can't be vaccinated, or why vaccines don't work as well for them or may need higher doses or more boosters. Because they don't have a healthy immune system, weakened viruses like the ones in the chickenpox virus might be too strong for their immune system to fight, and even if it doesn't get them sick, their bodies may not be able to produce enough effective antibodies to protect them from the virus in the future. That's part of why it's important for as many people to be vaccinated as possible; the more people who are vaccinated, the harder it is for viruses to spread, and vulnerable people like immune compromised people or babies too young for vaccination won't be exposed to deadly viruses.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, aims to treat symptoms of an illness that a person is already experiencing.

Homeopathic treatments do not aim to provoke an immune response, they aim to cancel out a symptom with a cure.

Dilution is a very important part of homeopathy, with homeopaths claiming that the more diluted a preparation is the stronger it is. This is simply incorrect; I don't know how to make a more logical explanation of that, it is just wrong that less of a substance causes more of a response.

Homeopathy says "like treats like" and that may seem like using a vaccine with a weak virus to prevent infection from a strong virus, but their version of "like" is different - Rhus Tox (poison ivy) is supposed to be "like" chicken pox because both cause itching. Rhus tox is also supposed to treat PCOS, erectile dysfunction, uterine prolapse, sunken eyes, nausea, and backache. "Like" can have an extremely broad meaning in homeopathy, which should be cause for suspicion.

Here's a paper that compared the immune response of college students given homeopathic "vaccines" against a control group and against a group of students who were given standard medical vaccines. The control group and the homeopathic group both did not have an immune response in titer tests, while the vaccination group did have an immune response, demonstrating that they had protection from the vaccinated viruses. It's a pretty good demonstration both of how effective homeopathy is (not at all) as well as how to set up a fair and ethical study to look at the effectiveness of different kinds of treatments.

[this-user-is-new]

nah, actually i can say that here. many people agreed with me.

but anyway, ekko is just a boundless well of compassion who exists solely to make vi look good, right? his entire life shaped by the violence, oppression and systemic cruelty of the enforcers is completely irrelevant when it comes to how he should feel about vi actively choosing to become one. because apparently, his trauma and lived experience just disappear when it’s about her. none of that matters when vi decides to throw on an enforcer uniform. he’s just here to be vi’s emotional support, right?

even if you want to use ekko to make vi look better with how he put everything aside for the greater good in the finale—fine (i'll go back to this tho). he can save her life. he can even work with her out of necessity. but let’s not pretend that means he agrees with her choice or respects it. his entire worldview is built around resisting piltover’s oppression, and the enforcers are literally a tool of that oppression. acting like he’d just set all of that aside for vi’s sake is incredibly stupid *cough* sorry, i meant reductive.

and don’t even get me started on the jinx argument. season 2, as plenty of people have pointed out, skips over a massive chunk of character development, and now you’re using their rushed resolution as some kind of "gotcha" moment to prove ... what, exactly? that because ekko forgave jinx off-screen, he’d do the same for vi? that logic is incredible. not in a good way. you’re actually using a literal writing flaw, one that leaves a major gap in ekko’s character arc to push your agenda. because yeah, let’s take a gaping hole in the show’s writing and use it as proof that ekko would just roll over and be totally fine with vi working for piltover. genius. but acknowledging that would require you to admit that season 2’s writing has issues, and unfortunately, i don’t think you’re there yet because that would require actual critical thinking.

i'm sure you’re fine with how ekko is abruptly removed from the storyline, how the oppressed are suddenly fighting alongside their oppressors, how the show prioritizes an alternate-universe ekko instead of developing the one we’re actually supposed to be following in his own universe, and how ekko and vi don’t exchange a single conversation—not even for him to confront her.

anyway, i recommend reading more about ekko’s actual lore. he’s so much more than what arcane shows you. hell, just listen to his LoL voice lines and then tell me if this boy "understands" vi becoming an enforcer. i’ll wait.

[pleasantspark]

Real quick, I don't support past things or anything that Chai has done, but this is straight up disgusting.

DO NOT SEND ANY HATE TO ANYONE. IDGAF ABOUT DRAMA.

For starters, you can criticize a trans person and respect their pronouns.

Chai goes by He/Him, don't be disrespectful even if they done disgusting shit. If you can't respect someones pronouns then I don't want that shit near me.

If you can respect the pronouns of the devil then you can respect Chai's.

"BUT HE-"

I don't care. Half of you have DNI Transphobes which should include the fact of misgendering intentionally. I cannot stand people who find it cute to misgender people because they support XYZ. I don't care I DON'T CARE I DON'T CARRRRRREEEE I don't like proshippers yet I can't be assed to tell them how their likes suck, I just ignore/block and if Chai's trying to change then I don't really care, I HATE PROSHIPPERS AND ZOOPHILLIA but come on man, be ffr.

"BUT YOU STILL INTERACT-"

Interacting doesn't mean I agree with peoples takes/interests, if interacting is endorsing then we are all guilty of that, by interacting with Viv's works that means we endorse allll her bad shit. I am TIRED of the community being shitheads about when they want to enforce shit because they hate someone.

Goodday.

[technofeudalism]

They should be doing something, I agree, but they can't grind the entire government to a halt without controlling the house or Senate, which they do not. When Republicans have done that, they had majority of the house and Senate, such as when Mitch McConnel refused to allow Obama to appoint Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court. They can't do anything if we don't vote and now we're in this situation.

this is how American liberals mislead people by just being flat out uninformed. you have provided absolutely zero context as to what happened with this appointment. you're spouting talking points painting the Democrats as the victims with no accounting for what they actually did or did not do. they absolutely could have ground things to a halt. you are wrong.

even if you discount entirely what happened afterward - Barack Obama refusing to push Ruth Bader Ginsberg out of her seat when she was 83 years old and dying from pancreatic cancer, which lead to Trump being able to appoint yet another Supreme Court candidate - Senate Democrats even admit today that they had the powers to shut down the Senate entirely in response to Mitch McConnell's obstruction. there were an abundance of debates at the time on whether or not it was even constitutional for Mitch McConnell to block the appointment. they could have sued. they could have fought harder.

they didn't. you know why? because they were confident that Hillary would win the election and they would be fine.

Jun 27, 2018

“We should have shut down the Senate,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said Tuesday. “We made a calculation that we were going to win the 2016 [presidential] election and confirm a nominee. And it didn’t work out.” “Hindsight’s 20/20,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). “I think I would have liked us to take an even harder line.”

oh and also, because Obama, as he did the entire span of his 8-year presidency, completely underestimated the Republican party and fucked over the Democrat progressive base. does that sound familiar to you whatsoever? do you know who Merrick Garland even is or what they were saying about him in 2016?

For some in the party, the problem began before Obama’s nominee even made it to the Senate. The issue was, frankly, with Garland himself. He was too moderate and too boring for some, and he just didn’t excite progressives. “There were options to pick someone that the base would have been mobilized to support because of who they were and what they represented for the court,” said Heidi Hess, a co-director of the progressive group Credo Action. “Garland felt like a pick to play chess with Republicans, and it didn’t work because they don’t play respectability and civility — ‘Obviously this man is qualified, so we’re not going to block him.’ That was never going to happen.” One Democratic strategist, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, faulted Obama for not recognizing the war he would be waging with Republicans and for not picking a candidate who could fight. “That meant talking to reporters, going on the record, discussing meetings with GOP senators, visiting key battleground states and so forth,” the strategist said.

[ ... ]

But Democrats assumed Hillary Clinton would win the presidency. They discussed whether McConnell would relent and let Garland through during Congress’ lame duck session if she won the election. And there was debate about whether she should renominate Garland or tap someone more progressive of her choosing instead. There was far less discussion about what would happen if Trump won the White House. Blumenthal acknowledged Tuesday that Republicans are “often more strategic” about making the courts a central issue during campaign season. He lamented that Democrats aren’t as good at exciting their voters about the stakes involved.

the consensus among those on the left and legal scholars at the time is that Barack Obama should have been hitting Mitch McConnell and the Republicans with so many lawsuits and used the full authority of the Justice Department to break up the obstruction. a common citizen filed a lawsuit that was thrown out because as an ordinary voter, he had no standing. a common voter sued to stop it, but the Obama Administration didn't.

and not ONLY did legal scholars believe that Obama should have sued, but they ALSO believed that he may not have even needed the Senate's official consent to make the appointment because the failure to respond could possibly be considered the same as consenting.

Here’s the nerdy Con Law argument. The relevant Constitutional provision is the Appointments Clause (Art. II, § 2, cl. 2.), which says, in relevant part: “The President, … by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint … judges of the Supreme Court.” The Constitution does not say what constitutes “consent of the Senate,” but throughout history that has been a confirmation vote. But there is no constitutional decree, no statute, and no case law that says a vote is necessary for confirmation. The only Senate Rule on the subject states that “When nominations shall be made by the President of the United States to the Senate … the final question on every nomination shall be, ‘Will the Senate advise and consent to this nomination?’” But nowhere does the Senate in its own rules state affirmative consent by vote is the way a nominee can be confirmed. And, although the Senate has the power to make its own rules, that power, arguably, does not extend to defining what consent means in the Appointments Clause. So if the President makes a nomination, and the Senate fails to act, Qui tacet, consentire videtur. The nominee is confirmed by the Senate’s silence.

as always, liberals have a shitty concept of the events that took place in history and do their very best to distort the facts in the same exact way that they've been manipulated and lied to by the Democratic party for years. you've been told so often that there's nothing they can do that you've actually convinced yourself of it.

there is always more that the Democrats can be doing. you are just complacent with being unrepresented and disenfranchised.

"the Democrats don't have the resources to fight everything!" they don't have the resources to... not... cooperate??? they don't have the resources to not vote yes on appointments??? they don't have the resources to obstruct, filibuster, walk out, object, get in front of every camera possible, do 24/7 live streams, scream it from the rooftops??? then what the fuck do these people have the capacity to do besides make strongly worded statements and bring forward lawsuits that go nowhere??? because they also don't make anyone's lives better when they're actually in charge and have control of the government either.

[official-natasha-romanova]

PLEASE READ

//Mod here

So I know that there are some people who agree with lgbt+ and some who do not. It should not matter either way what you believe in! Just be nice to each other is all that matters! So what if you don’t believe in it? You don’t have to. I can’t change your beliefs. But you can change how you act on it. Some of you may know that I don’t support lgbt+. I don’t. But I respect and will still be friends with those that do. It doesn’t matter what sexuality, gender or whatever you are. I will still happily be your friend. The world has worse problems than people not supporting or supporting lgbt+. So please. Take a moment and reflect. Is causing disagreements about this worth it in the end? I don’t mind if you do or do not support it. Just be nice to each other and respect each other no matter what you support. I have friends who support it. I have friends who don’t support it. In the end, it’s just a belief. Please don’t start arguments over it. All I ask if for two different supporting communities to befriend each other and just accept that not everyone supports the same thing. Please. Put aside your stubbornness and accept each other. It’s all I ask for.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post//

[cosmogyros]

.

[keelanrosa]

terfs when a study shows literally anything positive about trans people/transitioning: 'hm i think this requires some fact-checking. Were those researchers REALLY unbiased? Because if they were biased this doesn't count and if they weren't knowingly biased they probably were unconsciously biased, woke media affects so much these days. Have there been any other studies on this? Because if there haven't been this could be an outlier and if there have been and they all agree that's a bit odd, why aren't there any outliers, and if there have been and any disagree we really won't know the truth until we very thoroughly analyze them all, will we? Were there enough subjects for a good sample size? Did every single subject involved stay involved through the whole study because if they didn't we should be sure nothing shady was going on resulting in people dropping out. Are we 110% sure all the subjects were fully honest and at no point were embarrassed or afraid to admit they didn't love transitioning to the people in charge of their transition? Are we 110% sure none of the subjects were manipulated into thinking they were happy with their transition? In fact we should double-check what they think with their parents, because if the subjects and their parents disagree it's probably because they've been manipulated but their cis parents have not and are very unbiased. How many autistic subjects were there because if there weren't enough then this doesn't really study the overlap between autistic and trans and if there were too many then we just don't know enough about what causes that overlap to be sure this study really explains being trans and isn't just about being autistic. How many AFAB subjects were there because if there weren't enough this is just another example of prioritizing AMAB people and ignoring the different struggles of girls and women and if there were too many how do we know sexism didn't affect the results. Was the study double-blinded? We all know double-blinded is the most reliable so if this one wasn't that's a point against it even if the thesis literally physically could not be double-blinded. Look i'm not being transphobic, i want what's best for trans people! Really! But as a person who is not trans and therefore objective in a way they cannot possibly be, i just think we should only take into account Good Science here. You want to be following science and not being manipulated or experimented upon by something unscientific, right?'

terfs when they see a study of 45 subjects so old it predates modern criteria for gender dysphoria and basically uses 'idk her parents think she's too butch', run by a guy who practiced conversion therapy, 'confirmed' by a guy who treated the significant portion of subjects who didn't follow up as all desisting, definitely in the category of 'physically cannot double-blind this', completely contradicted by multiple other studies done on actual transgender subjects, but can be kinda cited as evidence against transitioning if you ignore everything else about it: 'oOOH SEE THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TALKIN BOUT. SCIENCE. Just good ol' unbiased thorough analysis. I see absolutely no reason to dig any deeper on this and if you think it's wrong you're the one being unscientific. It's really a shame you've been so thoroughly brainwashed by the trans agenda and can't even accept science when you see it. Maybe now that someone has finally uncovered this long-lost study from 1985, we can make some actual progress on the whole trans problem.'

[random-townie]

I couldn't agree more.

I play other games than The Sims and it's just unbelievable in what condition is that game after so many years of development and the shocking amount of money you need to pay EA for their scraps and pieces of constantly broken content. It is unbelievable, because any other game being constantly maintained in unplayable state like TS4, would be despised and at some point - rather sooner than later - players would held the studio/developers accountable of their BS by abandoning the game. (Check for example the fail of New World couple of years back and how few mistakes led to players exodus, doesn't matter if they fixed it later.) There are indie games fully created by a single person that have better gameplay than TS4 has - and will ever have, no hopes here. (Browse some info on Stardew Valley if you never heard if it.)

There is also a bigger game example from smaller studios which started with great disappointment after being overly hyped and upon release didn't deliver almost anything that was promised. But the studio took it seriously. They improved the game so much that today are it's simply incredible. And over the 8 years of constantly providing immense updates to gameplay adding new mechanics, new immersive quests and deep lore pieces, new activities, overhauling and expanding huge parts of the game both in terms of graphics and gameplay... THEY DID NOT TAKE A SINGLE EXTRA PENNY from their players. Look up the history of No Man's Sky, you might be shocked in comparison, if you only ever played TS.

Now this may be an unpopular opinion, but what the hell. If it triggers you, maybe it means something.

I mostly observe Sims Community, having my first simblr experience just now at 37 yo. But what I can see is also very alarming. The vast amount of TS4 Content Creators that are being reimbursed financially by the EA for promoting their faulty product. There is something I think we need to understand when we are consuming content from our favorite Simmers on YT, IG, TikTok, here on Tumblr. These content creators, with all my love and respect for their work and their content, may not be on EA's payroll, but they are benefiting financially not only from the ads placed in their content anymore. They are biased and they are being paid by EA to be biased.

This is really great PR and marketing strategy. Listen to their sugar coated honest reviews, fake enthusiasm and fake surprise to the content they were involved in making and now you are listening to nothing less than a lousy sales pitch. To be clear, use their creator code to support them if you like them, watch their content, but lets just keep our critical thinking on and call out the BS when its needed.

There's nothing bad in it if you are happy with what EA delivers, just giving you a perspective here. What EA does is predatory and abusive. Look at the lawsuits related to the Epic Games Fortnite being exploitative and using techniques triggering your urge to spend money on content. So many of us, Simmers, are adults, many of us probably with or own kids. We so often despise games like Fortnite with their time limited offers, battle pass, constant FOMO. Getting to 100th paid DLCs and still counting, while being massively promoted by content that should be always tagged as sponsored, well, I dont think it is so much different.

Happy Simming everyone. Love your game, love your Sims, the stories you are telling publicly or just in your head, love your favorite Simmers. But be real too. 💚

I've just watched the Business and "Hobbies" trailer and to say I am disappointed is an understatement. Which I know is not unique to me, and many others feel let down by this almost seemingly intentional mockery of a name. But it just shows me so much why I've been having difficultly playing / enjoying this game lately (aside from my own personal mental health issues going on right now).

And it just comes down to the fact that like many others...I'm so tired of this. I'm tired of having to wait for modders to improve on what EA half-bakes, I'm tired of building pretty sets and feeling bored the moment I hit play, I'm tired of making gorgeous characters only for them to feel flat.

It's like EA hits their target (like...Life & Death was a good pack from a gameplay standpoint, in my opinion) and it keeps you on the hook. Then they quickly shove whatever ungodly amount of kits between packs down our throats, and rush off to release the next one without it feeling full.

Like many of you...I bought & played The Sims and The Sims 2 (both when it came out back in the 2000's & on rerelease) and truthfully...while playing them, I couldn't help but to feel sad. It's goofy as fuck to say but it genuinely breaks my heart how far from grace the sims franchise has fallen.

I love this game so much. It really does make me happy at times, but lately, I just don't find much joy in it. If anything, it leaves me frustrated and disappointed these days whenever I try to play. Maybe it's part of getting older, and the fact that $40 is a lot of money when you're constantly scraping the bottom of your change jar to make it to the next payday.

This game is so bloated with content, and half of it is broken and uses the same animations over and over and over. Like with this much DLC, and how expensive all of it is, I should never be bored when I open this god damn game. Yet, unless I use poses for storytelling or mods, I always end up that way. Like, I don't even want to use poses anymore, and I'm sick of mods feeling almost essential just to enjoy myself.

I just want to open the game and play it as is. But it's not fun.

And that really, really makes me sad.

I don't know what this means long term for me as a simmer. Maybe I'm just in a lull, and just need some space from this game for a bit. I don't know. I guess we'll see what the future holds & maybe I'll feel better soon.

[zo1nkss]

Venty slightly ranty thoughts in tags about some takes I've seen on twitter if u don't want to see that

[porcupine-girl]

Things we already know about the UHC shooter, mostly from his social media:

- He has a bachelor’s and Master’s in computer science from an Ivy League school.

- He has read several books on chronic back pain.

- His profile banner includes a photo of an x-ray for back surgery. (Spinal fusion I believe.)

- Based on messages from his family, he dropped off the map a few months ago and they’ve been worried about him.

- His political beliefs are a bit all over the map; without doing a deep-dive my take is a pretty average centrist tech bro who’s read too much evopsych.

I’m a bit worried that, as the left is so fond of doing, people will turn on him immediately for that last part. Let’s not do that! Can we agree not to do that? Because here’s the important thing:

He’s a victim of the system, just like we all are. The system pushed him past his limits, and he lashed out at it. The details of his political leanings don’t actually matter - what matters is that you don’t have to be a radical leftist to lash out at a health insurance company. That’s shows how bad things are broken, that a guy who seems fairly privileged in most respects, with no strong political motive, could be beaten down and broken to the point of doing this. He has two Ivy League computer science degrees and yet had nothing left to lose.

This is a class war that doesn’t differentiate between the working class, middle class, even upper middle class. We’re all dog food for the 1% to chew up and spit out. Even if he turned out to be hardcore right wing, in this one single issue we’re united with him.

Everyone’s been talking about how this guy has seen insane levels of support across the political spectrum - which means nobody should be shocked that he could have come from any spot on that spectrum. I’m hoping the fact that he doesn’t seem super far left or right politically will make it easier to keep that unity, but the left just looooves our purity tests. Let’s maybe not this time.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

some threads woven together flawlessly. or fumbled with intently until it's like Look [holds out a cat's cradle] but no. it's good & real

smthing "i can't believe it's this Telling!" about Romance(tm) being multiple times hearing this sentiment like. "okay talking about relationships right. dating has always come easily to me / i've been lucky / i'm Good At romance: i was not single for more than 5 consecutive days from the autumn of '34 to Now. but it wasn't until my late twenties 90 yrs & dozens of Romantic partners into it that, for the first time ever: one of those relationships was actually like, good." and it's like damn i can't believe it's that Telling. that the remarks have this would be twist / punchline (not actually delivered as such. it's not unexpected to them?) that still gets framed thusly as being Successful in dating. spending eons with a bunch of people involved in bad relationships, but you weren't Not dating

also reminded in terms of [i don't really have any podcasts i'm listening to] like one i was like "hm i've heard some episodes. i'll put this one on in the background" then dropkicking it out the window like 10 min in b/c irrelevantly this Guest was like "real talk. ugh it's sooo cool to be poly nowadays 9_9 everyone has to be poly but i'm Naught into it!!! i guess i Feel too much. i want PASSION and DRAMA!!! this is just like how pop in the late '00s / '10s was all 'feminist' telling you to be independent sluts well i care about true LOVE" and like. i don't remember but i don't think they were a man, i'm quite surer they were queer, it was just so fucking lmfao like would you get thee fuck out of here. we actually don't live in "it's like it's illegal to be monogamous :(" world you're not Edgy now b/c you're insecure about what you see as "trendy" but don't Get / don't want in on. you're not going against the grain for being like "maybe i Do want to settle down with my soulmate" like great news that's normative. pick another queer group to Project on b/c they'd rupture your idea of the Bounds of queerness where you're like "ugh they're so mainstream & ruining it for us True queers disrupting the cishet agenda (arguing for queerness to be on The Terms Of said cishet agenda)" e.g. ohh the cishet agenda is pro asexuality!!! (it is not. even if it was? is the Queer Agenda for some people to have to deny their own sexuality & "have" to have sex a certain kind of way with certain people? up next "bi women: gender traitors, why not Choose to (have to) have only certain kinds of sex w/certain people :)" trans people gender traitors We decide what everyone's gender is, bit fucked up of you to be deciding your own huh, what Assumptions are you making you sicko?? you Have to identify / present xyz certain ways or you're failing to be the gender vanguard like we are) like what if the queer agenda was about everything we Can do. we Can have this sex w/these people sure, & we Can: Not do that w/them. like oh no what if cishet men were able to get their hands on the gay resources only when we recognize Aro/Ace identities can ppl Say "yeah i'm....hehe....Not cishet"? legitimate question Yeah What Then. oh no. god's wounds What If you can just say you're trans now & change your pronouns every day. like yeah let's let everyone do that. what if we all did. oh no lol. oh my god more people are talking about polyamory like they're allowed to talk about polyamory & if my monogamy isn't Assumed ""normal"" & i might feel like it's thus more in question?? well don't mind me as i get defensive by way of Derisive & start scoffing & spitting at the queers making the rest of us look bad but we're Really fighting the fight out here (doing what we were already doing but now feeling extra smug & self satisfied about it?)

like "ohh i have too much Emotion for that" like who said you didn't. why do you think polyamory involves less emotion or passion or desire or commitment or whatever. it sure doesn't posit it necessarily requires More either. it posits that it is not monogamy. & like christ Congratulations then. congratulations on having too much of a heart. that is then used to sneer & backbite like i forgot that this person on this damn podcast also brought this up b/c a friend or acquaintance who was poly made whatever kind of proposition & here they are on some podcast going Ugh & talking about how they have too much passion, despite years of top40 telling them, according to them, that feminism is sluttiness now (again this is. according to them. Groundbreaking circling back to bog standard misogyny) & isn't it so groundbreaking in turn if a woman were to sing love songs? imagine. you can have emotions & passion & drama taking the parking spot a stranger wanted. You could've brought the monogamy with a poly partner, when the Agenda for it is always distilled to Exclusivity, like, bring your own, huh? like your own Feelings & Passions & Commitment. but obviously it is the assumption that the poly partner is the Inadequate one there who would be causing any relationship to be Lacking. b/c they sure didn't frame it as some matter of fact Mismatch or else try to start being outright about how poly people are, like the bisexuals, these sluts (feminists!!) who are only giving you Part of themselves when you deserve All Access to your exclusive, locked in partner!!! & like good lord do you ever? with your Reliable kinsey endzones binary gender soulmate for life, do you?? locking them in what, why. excluding what, why. accessing all of what, why.

Romance(tm) being defined by Exclusivity defined by entitlement to as much of this other person as you want, to ensure that exclusivity: compare w/the boundless potential Threats or already Violations to thee proper romantic relationship. spending too much time with other people, sharing too much with them, getting too much support, feeling too much towards them, valuing them too much, to say nothing of what could be considered "intimacy," which then yeah sure includes "well no kissing or sex" but yknow again that does need to be a bound you even accept, monogamy style, & even if you do, that All Thee Rest of it can be attributed to "well you shouldn't be talking to them / having these friends / doing these other things b/c that's a slippery slope to Romance (kissing, sex)." that the exclusivity is so often inevitably defined by, when pushed to it, Exclusion, e.g. like if everyone i loved was held at gunpoint & it's like only One of them could be Not Shot baby it'd be you like tf is this scenario?? gee it'd suck if everyone else died but baby as long as it's not you like The Hell. that it's about Everyone Else being shut out & Less & Lacking & deprioritized thusly in specificass hypothetical winner take all tournaments of disposing of loved ones like what in the christ. & this being an Isolating logic like well that soulmate should be Enough. & the instruction like, yeah any & all feelings passions desires wishes wants needs hopes dreams? file that away under "to be fulfilled by the One True Romance." it'll fulfill Everything in your life!! if it doesn't umm cough must've been doing it wrong. turn your discontent into Passion. philosophically muse on how Fulfillment may have eluded you but maybe just maybe we all still come closest in struggling through a marriage for a few dozens of years & also perhaps parenthood! surely. and don't even think of considering if this cosmos of the nuclear household is not in fact the distilled essence of all that one's life can possibly contain

of course two people can have a long term intimate relationship w/each other exclusively & it not all necessarily play into some nuclear family cisheteropatriarchy agenda moment lmao, but this is just the same as like. yeah people Can exist in ways that some rando today could look at & deem "are they not cishet" but where this is also not of the cishet agenda(tm). b/c ppl Have to be cishet(tm). & Have to be finding their monogamous cishet lifelong spouse. & sure Have to Not do otherwise, so why Wouldn't there be the narrative that all passions & emotions & desires & wants & needs & chance of fulfillment is a matter of the domain of Romance(tm)? the idea like oh you enjoy talking with someone? Love. you're excited / interested / affectionate? Love. you're dtf? either Love or else held to be the other side of the same coin: marked Lack of love(tm). wild that Stimming in enthusiasm is used in this Romance framework lmao as like a recognized Normal nd moment. love the enthusiasm. you could be stimming even more, about more. you could be enthused even more, about more. you Could. you don't Have to, But You Could. you don't Have to be involved in a way you consider some degree of intimate enough to have a particular classification on that basis, but you Could. you don't want to? alright awesome how many versions of a person there can be on this earth. why would one want to define it as "having" to be monogamous though b/c you're Too Legit to be poly. Too Legit queer to respect asexuality. Too Legit trans to respect someone's gender expression/identity being a casual, dynamic, easy experience.

also always noticing like "oh right, another day's work giving Others' feelings legitimacy & priority, & not my own" back in college times when like a couple of times having to outright or gradually* deflect acquaintances whom i'd interacted with trying to go for the dating route. & then nominally having to presume that they are the uniquely burdened one here like oh way to go (did not do fuckall), what is more Legitimate than disappointment re: Romance right. except it's like now hang on i'm also the one going "i thought someone was interacting with me trying to be friendly :/" like lol, no. & as though then taking on this impossible unilateral responsibility to demur from seeming [i want to hang out & interact] interest now on the terms of both neurotypicality (also normative) & amatonormativity. & being like "??" like what would someone even have particularly strong feelings about when i prommy i did not yet feel comfortable bringing even like most of the range of my personality, or comfortable in general w/what i Did bring, what's the basis of this lol. making up a guy. & like we are all performing we are all perceiving & interpreting without a direct channel into someone else's interiority. but like where's Any genuine intimacy leading into this lol? like still a No even if so but at least it'd be less perplexing. & if there isn't even expected to be any then also still No. tf was this one guy trying to start shit over buying textbooks & by start shit i mean keep trying to talk to me when crossing paths on (community college!) campus until i'm like no i don't wanna go to a movie b/c i don't really know you from adam, & he's like "well isn't that the point of dating, to get to know each other" like No this isn't cishet amatonormative marriage speedrun "i'm so good at dating i wasn't single for 93 years! each relationship was shit btw!" central get out of here. luckily he did. rando guys in public & semi public barely count yet also fully count

another thing that's different but the same is it's kind of jarring like another thing you Can do but it rankles within me like i hope to just like. someone being like framed as Superlative Exceptional....like great lmao such a broad thing & common thing & i am fully aware like "Uh Oh Eesh when i am imagining it applied to Me. i do not like it" like how we are [it takes all kinds]ing and [no accounting for taste]ing & all these things we sure Can do. but i do tie it to just like. arguing for people's worth as A Thing on this bitch of an earth where some people get to see others' lives as less than theirs & the supposed cure for this appealing on Merit. where even the Personal, Individual protection against this is "well, just find the one person who is like 'you're Everything & btw i'd drop dead without you like what would be the point of Anything'" like now what tf is reassuring about that lmao....this Other audio experience i forgot where i was already just not that interested but it grated hearing someone assure us that like oh this person's webpage is so Intriguing i Have to talk to this person. another thing much more formal & established being this ode to someone being like So undeniably extraordinary & incredible & superlative etc, like, lovely ode to someone, but i do reflect like eesh i just really do not want that. no ironic "xyz would've hated this!!" like just do not. i'm so Not about merit(tm). i'm so not about anyone Needing to be considered superlative or extraordinary by even One other person. so not about rising Above anyone else as the evidence of worth. so not about praising anyone by assuring people they're Not "Just" [another xyz. a victim. passive. content to abc.]....so not about being stuck in isolation with the immediate Family as one's only support (against The Family: as like. a political deal) until the only other way to exist is to escape, &/or be pushed into, the marriage, aka thee romance (against Romance: also a political deal)

where in romance(tm) is there Not this narrative about how you'd better find all the support & fulfillment you need in your whole self & life & being in This. where is there not "ideally" isolation. where is there not exclusivity as the definition. with this also ofc assuming the "correct" monogamous approach. & the cisheteropatriarchy. like yeah sure people Can do xyz that would resemble like ah the cishet lifelong monogamous partnership, & Not be of that agenda. like there Can be ppl who would be perceived cishet by someone to whom "cishet" has any meaning but like, without that agenda. we had & can have all our phenotypes without the concepts of white supremacy / antiblackness around which to categorize "race," we have all our bodies w/o there necessarily, inevitably being ableism. & in the meantime against the [we Have to xyz] & the Normative & the assertion of "merited" deservingness & the isolating & authoritarian & controlling & extractive & prescriptive & limiting, & plenty of other things....polyamory like supposed "opposite" of aromanticism but it's peak harmonious when like, it is also very much outside how romance is "supposed" to be, to the extent of like ohh it doesn't count b/c it is so uncontained by any Definitions. ohh i could never be polyamorous b/c they're Diluting themselves (there's the Isolating & Exclusivity definitions....the Most romantic relationship? baby idgaf if everyone else in my life died. you wouldn't either re: all your loved ones, right. why are you talking to them again. or hanging out with them again. or saying Love to them again or changing your plans for them or listening to them or etc etc. & of course you couldn't kiss anyone else, why Wouldn't this relationship crumble away if that weren't the case??? lol) like okay you're not polyamorous, that others Are is good for you. ppl being trans is good for cis people; no genders as constraining classes. ppl being ace is good for allo people; no compulsory sexuality. people being bi is good for everyone; same. etc etc etc. that They can exist as themselves unhindered = you can; that they can't, you can't. you're not Too Good to be them; acting/doing Better than someone else is acting/doing is like, about choices lol. versus [oh it's not even a choice i Couldn't be poly....b/c i'm too good for that] like. now what does this do for anyone exactly. but make you feel more secure through feeling superior b/c you're hearing more often more casually more proximately about different choices people are making for themselves

anyways surfacing from [my god. writing a post now] & i would like to emphasize "aromantic sure but & also anti-romance i mean it. like politically" & "lovelessness let's gooo. politically as well like can we Not with the affective-centric"

[imagoodcop]

@idefendthecrimes

{Questioning and reading people… That was something I couldn’t help but to do anytime I was in someone else’s company. That was my job. It was who I was as a person. One thing I was really good at. Truthfully, I had one of these mindsets where I’d expect the worst in people until they managed to prove me wrong. Maybe it didn’t make sense to others, but this way of handling things worked best for me. I always went in expecting people to have ulterior motives to avoid ending up disappointed and put out once they proved me right. On occasion, though, there were people who managed to show me they were good. Bradford and a couple of others I worked with were in that category, but few others managed to break through my tough exterior and my rough around the edge wall I had built up around me as a means of protection and self-preservation. If anyone could understand why I was like that, it was Wesley, given what he pulled back in high school. That broke my heart, yes, but it also taught me a lesson. It pushed me to toughen up; all the while refusing to let people screw me over again in the future. I thought to myself in justification as I listened to his response. Eh, he seemed genuine. His compliment felt real, but I wouldn’t make that decision about his genuinity yet, since for all I knew, he was like most guys who tended to toss out compliments in hopes of softening me up enough to get into my pants}Thanks. Guess we’ll see how it goes. {I aired out casually in response before nodding in agreement to his comment about family} Hell yeah, they are. For years I let it bother me. I mean, how could you not? Everyone wants to be accepted and supported by their family. Then, I don’t know, I guess I felt the unnecessary stress and insecurity it was putting on me, so I just stopped caring. I realized life is too short to let other’s opinions matter that much to me. The people who matter will accept you for who you are, even if they don’t always agree with your choices in life, and well, those who don’t accept or support you don’t deserve a place in your life. Thing is, it’s your life to live, so you need to do the thing and make the choices that will help you sleep at night. You can’t base your happiness or what someone else wants or expects from you. Why should you be miserable and unhappy just to make someone else happy? That’s dumb and something I refuse to do anymore. {I shrugged indifferently as I took another drink. Listening as Wesley shared his thoughts with me about his mom} Have you told her to back off or put her in her place yet? I mean, I know she’s your mom, and you’re trying to be respectful, but sometimes a little tough love might be exactly what you both need in order to get on the same track. {I casually suggested. I know only Wesley could decide what the best way was to handle his mom, but if there’s on thing I learned from my own family issues, it was sometimes they won’t back off a bit until you put them in their place and let them know where you stand on their unwelcomed opinions} 

Time in life when it was simple yet never the best of us.

@imagoodcop

Time in life when it was simple yet never the best of us. 

Wesley Evers, the guy that defended the crimes that he felt weren’t committed. He was also the wealthy lawyer that refused to allow his mother to help him out. Growing up he never saw everyone in black and white. In school he purposely tried to disappoint his mother, he wanted to be the black sheep. He never understood the concept of well income families being better than the lower. He never cared about the money, he never wanted a career the best law program, the best lawyer company based on who his family was. He wanted to earn his spot on his own merits. A concept his family never understood. When I graduated I purposely picked the farthest school from my family, I honestly considered changing the last name but too much effort. 

Wesley was a defense attorney he was based in LA, he was one of the defense lawyers the Wilshire station used when a cop got themselves into a sticky situation. Wesley had those cops on speed dial it helped his reputation. Grey knew he was able to call day or night, and I’d hope out of bed and be restless and do my job. Being in LA the last few years; Wesley had reinvaded his life. He came off a broken engagement; purposely. He was guilty for the fallout; he was guilty for hurting Monica, for forcing her to end it. Truth was instead of being honest with myself, about how I didn’t love her enough to say I do, I felt like she liked the name Evers, what my family’s money the last name could do for her. Which is why I opt from allowing any of my dates from knowing who I am, the evers name. It opens doors but at what cost? 

I cheated why? Because I knew it would be the straw that broke her; force her hand to toss the diamond in my direction. Wesley liked helping people but when it came to dating he was a massive mess. Wesley decided his energy was best put into his career, he was just stepping out of his car, the expensive one, the only black expensive car he wanted in his life; but he did buy on his own. He had his briefcase in hand as he was preparing for a debriefing here at the station, a kid was wrongly accused of stealing, when it shows it was only because the manager of the store was unwilling to work with him, give him the money he owed the young idiot. He was near the food trucks where the cops of LAPD tended to hang out on their off shifts or a lunch break, when he barely felt the movement. “ Greg” He called as he felt the way my case fell, and I felt wobbly on my feet. My own client was the one what I felt ambushed me. As I got a handle on myself; Wesley spotted the boy running away with his flies; his case. Panic arose as he glanced to the two cops. 

“ Help, he just took my flies.” My flies, eyeing the younger male as he already had his hand on the gun and made a beeline after my idiot client. Stressful on my part. As for the brunette; she felt familiar yet I had no idea how. She wasn’t a client right? Brows pushed together; as he eyed her. “ Are you just gonna stand on your ass or will you do your damn job?” I asked more so out of annoyance; or was I about to go man hunting for my own client.

[thydungeongal]

GMing doesn't have to be a chore and can in fact be extremely fun and rewarding but there are certain learned behaviors and attitudes that make things harder on the GM. Here are just a few tips on how to make the job easier on the GM which also may have the side effect of making the game more fun for everyone:

Everyone should make an effort to learn the rules. The rules are not there to make the game unfun and they are not a necessary evil, they are there to help carry the game so the group doesn't have to do all the work. And everyone taking part in learning the rules means the GM doesn't always have to be the one to remember how a rule works.

To that end, drop the "GM is the final word on the rules" attitude. This places the GM on a pedestal and can actually run counter to the idea of players learning the rules. If the GM has carte blanche to run over the rules it disincentivices players learning the rules because they can't actually rely on the text, and now you're right back to the GM having to carry the whole game. It is entirely okay for players to remind the GM how the rules should work and the group should agree on a method for dealing with rules disputes, and spot rulings should not rely on the GM making a unilateral decision but should rely on some kind of consensus.

Communicate your desires to the group and be willing to compromise; respect each other's prep. You may want a game that focuses on a long-form narrative but the GM wants to run an episodic series of largely unrelated singleton adventures. The GM is the one who is bringing the game, so ultimately be willing to compromise on your vision of the game and respect their prep. Ultimately, if the GM does not want to run the exact type of game you want and you can't see yourself having fun in the type of game they want to run, you will be doing everyone a favor by recusing yourself from the game.

Related to the above, communicating your desires should be an ongoing process. End each session by talking about what you want to do next and where you think the game should go. This will also make it easier for the GM to prep ahead.

This relates to learning the rules: pick a game that actually supports the type of game you want to run. Trust me, whatever time you think you will save by sticking to a game you already know you will make back by not having to fight the rules all the time and actually letting the rules take an active part in carrying the game.

You can literally just use prewritten adventures. Not every campaign or adventure needs to be custom-tailored for your specific group. Using prewritten adventures means that someone's already done a lot of the prep for you.

And finally, don't prep any more than you need to: there is this persistent myth that GMs need to have the entire campaign and world planned from the word go to begin with. While there is nothing wrong with expansive worldbuilding as such, you don't need to prep anything beyond what is strictly necessary. If you're running a wide open sandbox you can get by with a rough sketch of the world and only write things in as they become relevant. If you're running a megadungeon your players don't have to know that you've only prepared the first level for the first session, as long as you have a cohesive broad strokes plan that is perfectly fine. If you're running an episodic campaign, well, you don't need to have anything beyond the next episode prepped at a time, but of course having a rough plan can help.

Of course a lot of this is very opinionated and game specific: some games actively resist authoritative GM prep and want to involve each player equally in setting up the situation, and that's actually great, and in those types of games you should remember that the game is explicitly telling everyone to be involved in the prep. And once again, listen to what the rules have to say: they're there to tell you what the game wants you to do.

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

I have a request for Jacaerys Velaryon x reader. They have been married for some time, but Jace still had feelings for Baela. He has never cheated and was always respectful towards reader, though. Jacaerys and her performed their duties and eventually she got pregnant. The fact that reader is now carrying his child makes them grow closer and Jace starts to fall in love with his wife.

For this one, the legitimacy of Rhaenyra’s children was called into question and there was no betrothals between Rhaenyra’s boys and Daemon’s twins.

Warnings: pregnancy (I don't like pregnancies when I read/write, but this one was okay and mostly a small part of the story)

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

When King Viserys fell, a prince showed up to your home and asked your mother, Jeyne Arryn, for her support to Princess — now Queen — Rhaenyra’s claim. In her message, Rhaenyra didn’t fail to mention her mother, Aemma of House Arryn, and remind Lady Jeyne that she shared Arryn blood through her. Your mother was hesitant, knowing her support would make Daemon Targaryen king consort, but she couldn’t give her support to the Greens. So, she agreed but demanded to get something in exchange: a husband for her only daughter.

You didn’t like the idea of being sold for politics, but according to your mother it was part of being a woman. 

Married life wasn’t bad like you thought. Jacaerys was a respectful and kind man, but there was one problem: he had feelings for another. 

You didn’t take long to notice that his heart was elsewhere. It was written in the silence. The way he looked at Baela, the way he smiled at her — a special smile he kept just for her. He had undeniable feelings for her. You begged for attention, time, acknowledgment, but Jacaerys was never fully with you. Him and Baela spent a lot of time together riding their dragons together or practicing High Valyrian in the great hall, which left you hurt and jealous. Other than the red gem on your finger that matched the one of his cloak-pin, you had nothing in common. 

Sitting in your chamber, you held a necklace of your house’s sigil. The gold was cool against your skin, a stark contrast to the warmth of the fire crackling in the hearth. You hadn't seen your mother since the beginning of the war and you missed her dearly. You exchanged messages by raven, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her in person. 

A tear slipped down your cheek, wishing for this war to be over soon. 

The door of your chambers creaked open, snapping you out of your sorrowful reverie. You glanced over your shoulder and saw Jacaerys in his armor after a day spent teaching the dragonseeds. It was a smart idea to get more dragons and riders on their side, but also a lot of work. 

‘’What are you doing?’’ he asked, his voice a mix of concern and curiosity.  

‘’Missing home, that’s all,’’ you replied, quickly wiping the tear away and forcing a smile. The weight of the necklace seemed heavier than ever as you clutched it in your hand.

Jacaerys stepped further into the room, running a hand through his tousled hair. He crossed the space between you in a few strides, his expression softening. ‘’Don’t cry. I hate it when you cry.’’ He wiped your tear and sat next to you. ‘’I’ll take you to the Vale when it’s safe,’’ Jacaerys promised, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder. ‘’I would take you now if it wasn’t so dangerous to fly over Kingsroad. The Greens have taken Harrenhal and—’’ 

‘’Is my mother okay? You promised you would send a dragon to watch over my home.’’  

He nodded. ‘’Rhaena left this morning with Joffrey and three dragon eggs. They should hatch soon and assure more protection to the Vale.’’ 

You let out a shaky breath, the news offering a small measure of relief. 

A few moons later, you announced to Jacaerys that you were pregnant. It was a surprise as you only had the occasion to lay together two times, but it’s been two moons since you last bled and the maester confirmed your suspicions. You were with child. 

The timing was not ideal, but the Queen was beyond happy for you and Jacaerys. She hosted a small feast in your honor, and made everyone keep your pregnancy a secret. Jacaerys was her heir, making your baby his heir. If the news got to their ears, she feared you would become a target for the Greens.

At the table, Baela congratulated you with a smile. You thought she would be bitter, but she was genuinely happy for you. 

As the weeks went by, the walls that once stood between you began to crumble and you and Jacaerys started getting closer. He would spend more time in the evening in your chambers, talking by the hearth while eating lemon tarts. And ask how the baby was although your stomach was barely round every time he returned from teaching the dragonseeds. 

You’ll never forget the look on his face when felt the baby move for the first time. The stars of complete amazement. He kissed you that night — a real kiss. 

On the seventh moon, as you were getting ready for your bath, you felt blood dripping down your leg.  Terrified, you asked one of the servants to fetch the maester and the Queen. She had other — more pressing — business to take care of, but you needed the reassurance of a mother by your side.

The news ran through the castle and made it way to Jacaerys, who dropped everything he was doing and ran through the corridors of Dragonstone to get to you. 

His face pale with worry when he bursted in your chamber, thinking you were going to lose the baby like his mother did. An early bleeding was how it started. 

‘’I’m fine, Jace. Maester Gerardys said bleeding can happen,’’ you said, taking his hand and pressing it over your belly. ‘’Our baby is fine.’’

—

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[wtfaniii]

Thank you for all your support in the first part of this one shot! Here I bring you the second one as you requested, I hope you like it💗

Paparazzi

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

Summary: A private detective that Gi-hun had hired to investigate those games he participated in three years ago, is taken against her will without knowing that a certain man with power and money knew absolutely every detail about her.

Warning: Some harassment, angst and violence.

Note: I'm open to special requests and constructive criticism! Sorry for the delay with this second part but I just got back to college and have been a little busy.

—I'm sorry for hitting you like that.

As they walked back to the room, the girl apologized embarrassedly, perhaps she had gone a bit too far and the best way to calm him down would have been to talk.

But it was the tension of the moment.

—Don't worry, I think I needed it —He replied with a soft smile.

They felt the judging glances of the other players for surviving but that didn't bother them, yes, maybe it was a little uncomfortable but the smile and a happy greeting from player 149 made the entrance more pleasant.

After sitting down and talking a little, each one introduced themselves with their respective names. They were a team from now on and they preferred to call each other by their names instead of a simple number that they had on their jackets.

—I’m sorry for that behavior earlier —Young-il apologized to the two girls on the team.

Uncontrolled behavior was common among men, they knew how easily lost their sanity if failed to achieve a goal, especially if it was the life at stake, but having done so in front of two young ladies was frowned upon.

—And Jun-hee, as soon as we get out of here you should go see a doctor, stress is not good for you.

The way he expressed that feeling of concern and empathy for the pregnant young woman was charming to the girl sitting next to him.

She had only known him for a few hours, but the fluid conversation they had managed to make them agree on several things, she was delighted with that player, but the cherry on the cake was the laugh that appeared on him face when he made a joke about Gi-hun's name, no one shared his moment of happiness except for her.

It was impossible for her to remain serious when she noticed that despite the circumstances they were in and the fact that were about to die a few minutes ago, Young-il maintained his humor.

After a few minutes, voting began once again to decide whether to stay or leave, however the majority of participants voted for the blue circle, condemning the rest of the players who refused to continue playing.

The girl continued terrified, this was not her job, Mr. Seong Gi-hun had not hired her for that.

In-ho just watched her, noticing her lips pressed together in a grimace and her brow furrowed, a sign that was frustrated at not being able to get out of there.

While the food was being distributed, In-ho sat next to Gi-hun in complete silence, player 456 was further away from his target and that disappointed him, but his eyes drifted slightly towards 455, the detective was sitting on her bed accompanied by Jun-hee, the disappointment and fear of staying still etched in their expressions.

When Jung-bae came over to apologize for pressing the blue circle he stood up and walked towards the two girls.

—Take it Jun-hee —His voice caught her attention —You need to eat more to maintain your strength —Seeing that she was going to refuse, he insisted with a smile —Besides, I don't drink whole milk.

222 took the little box and thanked her with a slight bow.

—You have to eat too —He said looking at the girl.

She hadn't even gone for food, she was nervous about the next game and more than out of fear, preferred to think about how to get through the next round.

—I'm not that hungry.

—I'll go with you.

In-ho wasn't asking if she was hungry or not, it was a request for her to go get his food and eat it later.

She couldn't refuse and he made that clear when held out his hand for her to take, Jun-hee watched the act with wide eyes and a slight smile, he was quite the gentleman.

—I'll go with the others —222 said, starting to feel like was in the way.

—Come on —In-ho repeated, taking her hand and gently pulling up from where she was sitting.

Her smiled at him and went for she respective portions. As night fell, Gi-hun began to make a kind of fortress where they could stay. They would take turns sleeping or staying awake to stand guard.

—¿Don't you think you're exaggerating? I don't think these people are capable of killing each other —Said 001 with a grimace.

—You haven't seen these games before —Gi-hun argued.

—He's right —the girl said. —We must be alertm

The way she seemed to be able to be afraid and brave at the same time was curious to In-ho.

During the night, everyone was asleep except for Jung-bae and Dae-ho because it was their turn to keep watch, but seeing that the girl was also awake, Dae-ho approached her.

—¿Aren't you going to sleep? ¿What are you doing?

Watching her try to break the zipper of the jacket, he arched an eyebrow.

—¿What are you doing? —Him ask for the second time, this time more curious.

—The bathrooms have ventilation, with something metal I can open the gate.

It wasn't a great plan but it would be useful, or at least that's what she thought.

—¿Are you going to escape? —Dae-ho asked in surprise at her plan.

Those words caught the attention of the man who was barely trying to sleep in his bed, In-ho opened his eyes and listened attentively.

—I hope so —she agreed not very convinced that those ducts lead to a safe exit without guards. —If I manage to do it, I will go for Gi-hun's team and come back for you guys

—¿What if he finds out?

—Well... The worst thing that can happen to me is getting a bullet in the head.

In-ho twisted his lips, it seemed that the detective who was afraid of dying had disappeared, leaving behind a girl who now only wanted to survive but without seeing anyone else die.

That was honorable, he admitted, but still didn't understand how she would risk his life for people she barely knew and for his boss, accept that she escape without looking back but come back for them?

¿For him?

Or at least that's what he thought when he felt her gaze on him.

—None of you deserve to die in here, you are good people, if I am going to die... I will not do it playing, I will do it trying to do something good.

Those words were enough for In-ho to recognize her worth, finally there was the girl he had been following for a whole year who planned her moves well.

It was nice what she wanted to do.

It was also a complete shame that him had to ruin it for her.

Thanks for reading!! 😸😸😸I think the third part will be full of angst and will be somewhat cloying. I love romance sorry

Tag list:

@lucinda-reads @deathsmellzz @autmn4lvs @cvbi @ava-cjkk @ari200027 @claristary

[gibbearish]

guy who is really mad some people don't like having cake smushed in their faces

guy who is really mad that people smush their friends’ faces into birthday cakes